


Mr and Mx Oleander

by orphan_account



Category: Boyfriend to Death (Visual Novels)
Genre: Anal Sex, Canon-Typical Violence, Domestic Fluff, Drug-Induced Sex, Emetophobia, Frottage, Intercrural Sex, Married Characters, Menstruation Kink, Multi, Necrophilia, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Nonbinary Character, Oral Sex, Other, Panic Attacks, Polyamory, Recreational Drug Use, Strength Kink, Vaginal Sex, Watersports, supernatural shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2018-12-02 13:32:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11510442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: On a permanent hiatus bc I honestly just need to rewrite this entire trainwreck but I don't want to delete it either?





	1. In Which Ren Bites Off More Than He Can Chew

**Author's Note:**

> This will probably seem a bit fluffy and non-gorey, at least where the main characters are concerned.
> 
> However, random filler OCs are fair game for being gutted horribly in this fic. That'll come later tho~
> 
> But yes, I'm excited to be writing this and I have so many fun ideas already, so let's get started!

Ren stepped out from Str—no, the car was his now, no longer Strade's—onto the sidewalk. He felt giddy, a bounce in his step as he entered the Jackalope.

Tonight, Ren was going to meet Lawrence in person.

For months they had talked online, first through tumblr and then through Skype, though they only video chatted once. But now Ren would get to see Lawrence without a computer limiting his view.

He scanned the bar and spotted Lawrence sitting at one of the tables with a woman.

She was pale with a scattering of freckles across her face and arms and chest. Her hair was ginger like Ren's own, but longer, with no bangs and brushing just past her shoulders in wavy curls. She wore a black tank top and acid washed bootcut jeans. A denim jacket hung on the back of her seat.

Had Lawrence met someone else at the bar before Ren arrived?

"Lawrence?" Ren greeted as he approached the table, right hand extended.

"R-ren!" The blond startled, but stood quickly to shake Ren's offered hand. He was smiling, or trying to at least. The awkward smile didn't quite touch his icy blue eyes, "It's nice to meet you. In person, I mean."

"Likewise!" Ren replied cordially before pointedly glancing at their third companion.

"Oh!" Lawrence caught on and hurried to introduce her, "This is Nova. Sorry, xe wouldn't let me come here alone."

Ren's interest sparked, Nova used neopronouns so xe was most likely nonbinary in some capacity.

He turned to properly greet Lawrence's tag along and faltered.

Nova was nothing like xir companion.

Xir grin was friendly, a far better imitation than Lawrence's nervous one. However, just like his, the smile didn't reach xir eyes.

Except that xir eyes are threatening instead of nervous, warm brown glittering with the sharp edge of barely hidden disdain and aggression. The upward tilt of xir head spoke of superiority and control as xe looked Ren over.

The fox repressed a shudder and the urge to let his ears and tail out under the eerily familiar gaze. He tries to smile back.

"Th-that's probably pretty smart." Ren conceeded, "Are you his coworker or...?" He purposfully trailed off, waiting to see if xe would fill in the blank.

"Spouse, actually." Nova answered, lifting a pale red cocktail with xir left hand, plain gold wedding band glinting on xir ring finger in the warm lighting of the bar.

Ren's eyes reflexively flit to Lawrence's left hand, finding an answering ring encircling his finger.

He made an acknowledging noise, "You never told me you were married, Lawrence."

Lawrence shrugged and glanced up at Ren before averting his eyes again, "It never really came up. Sorry."

This complicated things. Ren had only planned for Lawrence. 

Now he had a choice to make; Abandon the idea altogether or try to take them both.

Because he couldn't just take one, the other would cause problems. And Nova had an air about xir like xe would hunt him down and gut him if he even tried to hurt xir husband.

No, he had to have control over both of them to make this work. He was sure that Strade had made a second collar, a backup in case Ren's broke.

Ren laughed, putting back on his jovial exterior as he sat down with them, "That's okay, I was just surprised! So how long have you two been married?"

"Seven years," Nova replied, stirring xir drink imperiously, "Eight come this october."

Ren knew Lawrence was twenty-six from their chats and did the math in his head, "So...wow, you got hitched at eighteen? That eager, huh?"

Lawrence blushed and hunched his shoulders. Nova's easy expression immediately became sharp again.

'Stop teasing him or I will make you sorry,' it said.

It was such a quick reaction Ren wondered if it was a reflex for xir.

Xe held the expression for a heartbeat before taking a swallow from xir drink. It fizzed in the glass, the cocktail must have had some variant of soda in it.

Ren cleared his throat and switched to a safer topic, "What are you having?"

"Personal order." Xe replied curtly, then at Ren's expectant look xe elaborated, "Two fingers peach whiskey over crushed ice and fill the rest with the lemon-lime soda of your choice. Garnish with a cherry. Umbrella optional."

By the end of the recipe xe was smiling and Ren felt a little more hopeful about the whole situation.

Thus, as they continued to chat and Nova and Lawrence relaxed, the evening turned out to be enjoyable and Ren learned quite a few things about the couple.

They were both homeschooled, though Nova started after kindergarten whereas Lawrence stayed in public school up until fifth grade.

They met in the woods behind Nova's new house when they were twelve and lived across from each other in a cul-de-sac neighborhood.

They eloped the summer after they graduated and quietly signed paperwork rather than having a ceremony.

Lawrence worked a graveyard shift in a warehouse while Nova stayed at home and wrote commissioned stories online.

Nova liked video games and cartoons and anime—much to Ren's delight—whereas Lawrence was more into books and music and gardening.

After a few hours Ren had made up his mind.

He would try to keep them both. He knew it was a little ambitious, but the idea of having such a sweet couple as companions was oh so tempting.

"One last drink?" Ren prompted, not waiting for an answer before he scampered off to buy a round of rum and cokes. He quickly slipped a dose each into two glasses, then came back and set them in front of the couple.

Nova happily accepted xir fourth drink. Xe clearly enjoyed alcohol.

Lawrence, on the other hand, left his drink untouched.

Ren internally panicked as he sipped on his own untampered drink. They both had to drink or this wouldn't work. 

A sudden horrifying thought occured to him and he gnawed at the inside of his lip, desperately hoping that Nova wouldn't try to down Lawrence's drink too. He didn't want an overdose.

Thankfully, xe seemed satisfied with just xir own drink, though xe did lament that xir husband was wasting good alcohol.

Lawrence coloured at that, but quietly insisted that he was comfortable with his current buzz.

Minutes ticked by and Ren began to formulate a way to leave, until Nova abruptly stood from the table.

"I need some air." Xe said, xir voice shaking a bit, and xe strode to the back entrance where people usually went to smoke.

Lawrence barely spared Ren a backward glance before he was up and following his spouse into the alley.

Ren hesitated, debating on how bad running would look, then reluctantly went after the couple.

The second he opened the door he was assaulted by a barrage of panic driven rammbling coming unexpectedly from Nova. Xe was pacing the alley and fanning xirself with xir hands. Or perhaps it was handflapping since xe was shaking them limply.

Lawrence stood to the side, just watching the display, though it was obvious that it was a behavior born of experience instead of instinct. His body language clearly screamed that he wanted to hold and soothe xir, but the way he held himself back showed that he knew from experience that being held was not what xe wanted.

Nova's voice was fast and high strung, frantic to the point of hyperventilating, "Law, I don't feel good, I feel queasy, Lawrence, I don't want to throw up, please no."

Xe finally stopped pacing and flapping, even if only to hug xirself and hyperventilate while staring fearfully at the ground.

Lawrence carefully approached xir and eased xir down to sit on the concrete, "Shh, it's okay, I've got you."

The tender way he brushed xir ginger hair from xir face and let xir grip his free hand made Ren's throat constrict.

Finally, the drug took full effect and Nova nodded off into an unnatural sleep. Lawrence checked xir pulse for a minute or so, clearly making sure that it wasn't waning. Then he stood and turned to Ren.

Ren immediately shrank back. The expression on Lawrence's face was positively murderous.

He attempted to calm Lawrence, do some damage control, "D-don't worry, Law. Xe's alri—"

Ren didn't have nearly enough warning to dodge the incoming punch that knocked his lights out.


	2. In Which Ren Reluctantly Joins A Tea Party

When Ren came to, he realised that he was sitting up in a wooden chair. Only experience kept him from making noise as he woke fully. Golden eyes darted around, taking in as much of his surroundings as he could.

Ren was sitting in a room with a large window that overlooked a city. A table with numerous plants sat under said window and in front of the table was a bed, a double from the look of it. The head of the bed was against the wall to his right and it took up most of the floor space.

To the right of the plant table was an open computer hutch and a plush office chair, tucked into the corner between the wall and bed. The computer was on and a youtube video was open, playing forest sounds. Cicadas, birds, crickets, and a running brook.

Silver caught his eye at his wrists. Duct tape, holding him to the chair. He was still clothed too, though wiggling his toes told him that while his shoes were absent he still had on socks.

Ren inhaled quietly, taking in the things humans could smell as well as what they couldn't.

Unfamiliar scents of something earthy burning and a home that wasn't his.   
Familiar scents of plants and dirt, like Strade's backyard when Ren went out to dig holes.

His fox traits...

Ren tensed, then relaxed when he felt no ears or tail. He hoped that they hadn't popped out while he was unconscious, it was always hit-and-miss whether they would. His head hurt too much for that kind of conversation, a sore pounding sensation radiating from his jaw and the back of his head.

The combined noise of the nature sounds from the computer, the hum of a humidifier, and the hushed, aggitated voices that came from behind him weren't helping the ache either.

Ren recognised with a start that they were Lawrence and Nova's voices, trying to have an argument quietly not unlike how Ren's parents did when they thought their freak son was in bed.

"—your temper."

"He tried to drug you!"

"So you brought him back here?!"

"I'm sorry, am I not supposed to protect you?!"

"Yes and you did! But then you went further than just clocking him and brought him home!"

Well, at least that reminded Ren why his head hurt so much. Lawrence had a mean right hook. The ache at the back of Ren's head told him that he must have hit it on the concrete after Lawrence punched him.

"I know, I know! Don't you think I'm already aware that I screwed up?! I wasn't thinking, I panicked! I just—"

A soft wounded sound, almost like crying cut off whatever else Lawrence was going to say.

Nova's sigh and answering coos spoke of xir probably comforting xir upset husband, though Ren couldn't turn to see and confirm. Not like he even tried to, the movement could draw unwanted attention.

"I'm sorry, I know you're stressed enough over this without me getting pissed off." Nova murmured, almost too quiet for even Ren to hear.

There were a few soft sounds, rustling fabric, like they were hugging.

Then xir voice came again, muffled like xe was speaking into Lawrence's shoulder or chest, "I just don't know why you didn't just leave him. Bar fights happen, honey. No one would have thought twice about it."

"I...you know why." Lawrence's voice was rough—so he had been crying—and quietly miserable, "The same reason I bring home any problem."

"I know," Nova replied, "You can't just leave them lying on the ground."

They were quiet for a few moments then. Ren idly wondered if they were doing that cliche kitchen-hug-sway-dancing thing that he'd always longed to do with someone.

After a few more quiet minutes Nova piped up, "So how are we going to deal with him?"

"I...I don't know." Lawrence admitted, "He tried to drug you, so I'm pretty sure he was going to hurt you." Then he added, "I won't let him."

Ren shivered.

Lawrence's voice was oddly cold, in a way Ren had never heard from the shy blond before.

He had, however, heard that tone plenty of times with a german accent. It was an icy, protective tone that brokered no mercy.

"I know you won't." Nova sounded pleased, practically purring.

There was a wet sound then, the pair humming in unison.  
A kiss.

Ren tried not to sulk with envy from hearing the simple display of affection.

How many times had Ren asked—begged—Strade to kiss him?

Too many, and he always answered the fox with a bite instead.

"I'm going to make some tea so we can sleep." Nova announced, followed by the clinking of kitchenware and hissing thrum of water filling a metal container.

Soft padding footsteps were all the warning Ren got before Lawrence stepped into his field of vision. It was too late to pretend to still be out cold, so Ren tried to smile instead.

"You're awake." Lawrence's eyes widened when he noticed that Ren was fully alert, "Nova, he's conscious."

"That's nice." Nova replied blithely as xe came into view as well, carrying two steaming teacups. Xir ginger hair was pulled back in a low ponytail to match Lawrence and xe was wearing glasses now. Nova gestured behind Ren, xir tone flippant, "Would you like some tea, Ren? I know you just woke up, but it's nearing sunrise and it's going to become dreadfully boring once Law and I settle in to sleep."

Ren carefully kept his nervousness off his face as he shook his head. When he tried to speak his voice came out froggy from being quiet for so long, but he cleared his throat and gave a polite and chipper, "No, thanks, I'll be okay."

The blank look that came over Lawrence's face sent a shiver up Ren's spine.

"You really should drink it." Lawrence monotoned, a thinly veiled threat.

At that Ren swallowed, licked his lips, and slowly nodded.

He wasn't absolutely sure, but he suspected that the tea had some sort of sedative effect. However, he wasn't about to refuse again, his anxiety was screaming at him to avoid upsetting his captors further.

Nova handed a cup to Lawrence who sipped it hot as opposed to how xe blew across xir tea in an effort to not fog xir glasses or scald xirself. Xe padded back into the kitchen area behind him, xir footsteps sounding sharper than Lawrence's on the wooden floor.

Ren glanced down curiously as Nova came back with a cup for him and confirmed that xe was barefoot. Xe was also wearing loose boxers with xir tank top and Ren idly wondered if xe wore the boxers all the time or just to sleep in. The jeans xe had worn at the bar wouldn't have comfortably allowed for them.

"Stop oggling Nova's legs." Lawrence's command broke Ren out of his thoughts.

Xe gave a snort of laughter. The motion made xir chest move and Ren blushed, finding himself trying not to upset Lawrence even further by staring at xir breasts.

However, he did note that xe had odd lumps on each one. It took him a second, but Ren managed to piece together that Nova had barbell piercings on xir nipples which were showing through xir tank top. Xir bra must have hidden them at the bar.

A cough and warning glare from Lawrence made Ren pointedly switch to staring at the curling fern plants in the container mounted on the wall above their bed.

"What is with you lately?" Nova chided the blond, but xir tone was playful, "You're never this possessive when Vincent and Farz come around."

"I trust them. I don't trust Ren after what he did to you." Lawrence protested as he plopped down on their bed, removing his red flannel shirt and undoing his ponytail.

Despite the circumstances, Ren's interest flared at getting to see Lawrence more comfortable, at ease in his own territory.

Golden eyes darted to the tattoos. Nova had a matching set encircling xir arms and Ren wondered if one of them had gotten the bands first or if they had them done together as a couple thing.

Had it been Nova's idea or Lawrence's?  
Nova seemed more likely, it was hard for Ren to imagine the awkward blond discussing designs with a tattoo artist.

Nova blew one last cooling breath before expertly holding the cup for Ren to drink from. Xir steady grip and easy adjustment of the angle spoke of xir doing this often.

Ren tried to keep an eye on them both while he slowly drank the herbal tea. Xe really was careful, managing to not tip the cup too fast or spill tea on him, even though xir brown eyes kept flitting back to the double bed where Lawrence was lying down on the side closest to Ren.

He wondered if Lawrence always slept on that side of the bed or if he was protectively puttting himself between Ren and Nova while they slept.

Strade used to sleep with his back to the door when he would spoon Ren, and whether it was out of possessiveness or protectiveness the memory warmed Ren's heart either way and made his eyes prickle with the threat of tears.

Nova gave an amused hum, eyes glittering mischeviously behind xir glasses, "After what he did to me? Which implies that you would have trusted him before?"

"What? No, I...That's not what—I...I mean, maybe? I don't know!" Lawrence coloured and stuttered, conflicted.

"Oooh you naughty boy, trying to get us another playmate!" Nova gasped in mock scandal and xir laugh rang out as xe teased xir husband even further.

"Novaaaa!" Lawrence buried his red face in a pillow, muffling his embarrassed whine.

Nova's laughter quieted to a soft giggle through xir nose as xe finally gave Ren xir full attention. Xir free hand adjusted xir glasses and he noticed how large xir pupils had gotten, thanks to both the drugged tea and possibly arousal.

Xe bit xir lip thoughtfully, then purred, "Adorable isn't he? I don't think I'll be able to coerce him to play though, what with you being here and all. Too bad."

Nova set the cup aside half full and before Ren could question xir, he felt a wave of soft dizziness dragging him back down into unconsciousness.

"Sleep tight, Ren." He swore he felt Nova gently ruffle his hair before he blacked out.


	3. In Which Ren And Nova Geek Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is taking so long to set up...I kinda just let the characters lead and yeah...

The first thing Ren became aware of when he woke was a warm weight on his lap.

He opened his eyes, peering blearily at the blurred orange shape obscuring his legs. He blinked rapidly to clear his eyes of sleep and Nova's face came into focus.

Xe was sitting on the floor, arms crossed on Ren's thighs, smiling at him. Xe must have been watching him sleep. Xir hair was down and tangled from sleep.

Ren opened his mouth to speak, but Nova quickly brought a finger to xir own mouth and made a quiet shushing noise. Then xe pointed to his right.

Lawrence was still curled up in the pale blue bedsheets, clutching a pillow in Nova's absence.

"Trust me," Xe murmured as xe stood, "He is not a fan of being woken up before he's ready, even when it's just me."

Then xe stretched, probably out of both lingering sleepiness and having sat on a hardwood floor for who knows how long.

"You hungry?" Nova prompted.

Ren bit his lip. His stomach was saying Yes, but he was hesitant to accept anything after they made him drink drugged tea.

Though maybe...maybe if he behaved...

Ren mentally shook himself. That line of thinking had worked with Strade, but these two weren't Strade. He didn't even know what they intended to do with him yet.

Apparently he was taking too long to answer, because Nova gave up on waiting and padded into the kitchen behind him. When xe returned xe had something in xir hand.

"Sorry I can't give you warm food, but the microwave makes too much noise." Nova apologised, mindful of xir volume.

Ren nodded absently, thinking of how eerily similar xe sounded to himself in that moment.

He had apologised so many times for not being able to help Strade's "guests" more, for only being able to clean a wound, only being able to bring them a drink of water.

A hand by his mouth brought Ren back to his situation. Nova was crouched in front of him, holding a piece of whatever it was for him to eat from xir hand.

Like Strade used to do with granola bars.

Muscle memory had Ren opening his mouth without really thinking.

Nova was careful of xir fingers, kept xir touch light as a pickpocket's as xe fed him what turned out to be bits of a blueberry muffin. He stifled a happy trill. It might not have been chicken hearts or raw eggs, but blueberries were still one of his top favourite foods.

Nova patiently fed Ren, letting him have the whole muffin.

"Thank you." Ren whispered, genuine but also hoping that his politeness would win him some brownie points.

Xe just smiled softly as xe stood, balling up the paper cup wrapping.

Rustling sheets and mumbling drew their attention to the bed. Xe set the trash on xir desk before crawling back onto the bed to lay down on top of the covers next to Lawrence.

"Hey, dandelion," Nova cooed as xe combed xir fingers through blond hair and placed chaste kisses on his cheeks and forehead, "S'time to get up."

Ren couldn't see Lawrence's face from his position, but Nova laughed softly and said, "Don't give me that glare. You can't sleep all night and it's already past seven."

Lawrence grumbled something unintelligible, yet dutifully hauled himself into a sitting position with xir coaxing.

Ren bit back an amused snort.  
Despite Nova's fingers Lawrence's hair was still mostly tangled in the back.

Satisfied that xir husband was awake, xe got off the bed.

"I'm going to go get dressed." Nova announced, kneeling to pull out a drawer from the bedframe and grabbing clothes. Then xe walked out of the room and Ren heard a door shut.

Now he was alone with Lawrence.

Lawrence, who apparently was grumpy when he woke up.

There had been plenty of times in his life where Ren had been way more on edge, but he certainly wasn't at ease with the current situation.

He watched as Lawrence sat crosslegged on the bed, facing away from Ren, seeming to just be taking his time waking up fully. After a moment the blond finally moved to get off the bed and stand.

Lawrence turned and blue eyes fell on Ren.

"Oh...right." The flat affect of Lawrence's voice was almost comical, but the fact that he'd apparently forgotten about Ren still stung.

Ren hid the hurt though, and gave a chipper, "Good morning!" Then he blinked at the darkness beyond the window and backtracked, "Or night, rather..."

Lawrence didn't reply, but he nodded as he grabbed his shirt from last night off the floor. He shook it out before slipping it back on and buttoning it up. Strangely, he tucked the shirt into his sweatpants.

Then he left the room as well, without a word to Ren.

A knock came from what Ren assumed was a hallway.

"Babe? I need to use the bathroom."

The sound of a door opening.

"I'm just brushing my hair, you can come in and go."

The door shut again and Ren was left with nothing but the humidifier's hum. He carefully let his ears out and angled them, listening to the other tenants.

Not much chatter, mostly TVs.

He cocked his ears toward the hallway, the bathroom.

"—of leaving you alone with him."

"You don't have a choice unless you're okay with missing work."

"There's still a few hours before I have to leave, we could handle the problem in that time."

"I have a major commission deadline soon. I need wi-fi and I can't have that if we're burying a body in the woods in the middle of bumfuck nowhere where there's no signal."

Ren's ears reflexively flattened.  
They fully intended to kill him.  
Kill him and bury his body in the woods somewhere.

He forced his ears back up, sick with anxiety and the need to know.

"—doubling the tape."

"Alright, that's fine. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Do we still have pancake mix?"

"I think so..."

The door opened and Ren hastily hid his ears before Nova came bounding past him in a pair of jeans and a red tank top to look in the kitchen.

Lawrence followed more slowly, eyes locking onto Ren as soon as he came back, warily watching. His hair was brushed and pulled back into the same low ponytail as last night.

"Bingo!" Nova must have found the mix. The kitchen suddenly came to life with the sounds of xir cooking.

Lawrence pulled a chair out from the table just slightly behind Ren. If he turned his head, he could just barely catch sight of it.

Soon the scent of pancakes filled the small appartment and the clatter of plates announced that they were ready to serve. A clink behind Ren told him that Lawrence was eating at the table, while Nova carried xir own plate to xir computer hutch and plopped down in xir rolling chair. The wheels made noise, but were quieter than hardwood should have allowed. Perhaps the chair was on a thin rug or one of those plastic floor protectors. Ren couldn't tell with the bed in the way.

At Ren's curious stare, xe shrugged, "You're kinda occupying my dining chair, and I need to get back to work anyway."

True to that statement, the moment xe was finished eating xe set the plate aside and opened a busy word document. The staccato click clack of typing joined the steady humming of the humidifier.

Lawrence came back into Ren's view only long enough to grab both Nova's plate and the muffin paper before he disappeared to the kitchen area. Running water and the sound of dishes in a metal sink started up as he cleaned them.

It was all so suffocatingly domestic.

Ren fidgeted in the chair as much as the duct tape would allow, antsy with unused energy. Usually when he felt like this he would jump on the bed in the guest bedroom or go outside a dig a few holes, but he couldn't do that here.

The lack of talking was a weight. It reminded him of testing days in high school. Pencils scratching in answers, clicking calculators, rustling papers, and even the occassional cough or sneeze were all allowed. 

But not talking.

That's how it felt now, that if Ren spoke he would be breaking a rule. 

Intrusively, it made him want to scream.

After a few minutes, Nova finally stopped typing and stood. As xe walked back toward the kitchen xe looked at Ren the same way Lawrence did when he woke up, like xe had forgotten he was there.

"Sorry, I bet this is pretty boring for you isn't it?" Nova kept walking though, and the suctioned crack of a refridgerator came from behind him. Xe returned with a can of some kind of drink and sat back down at the hutch, popping the tab. There was no hiss of carbonation.

"I can't listen to music when I work, even instrumental stuff is distracting." Nova said conversationally, apparently taking a break from writing, "I always end up humming or singing along."

"What are you writing about?" Ren feels giddy just from speaking, the excited rush of students allowed to talk after the long test.

Nova sipped xir drink pensively before answering, "Porn. Specifically a Modern AU Flareshipping fic. It has twincest because Yugi and Yami are twins."

Ren grinned and leaned forward as much as he could, "So how does Seto fit into all that?"

Nova absolutely lit up with the realisation that Ren knew what xe was talking about, "Right in the middle. The client specifically asked for Flareshipping with Seto getting double penetrated. Personally I'm delighted, I love writing bottom Seto. So many fics have Yugi being all cute and submissive, which can be fun I guess, but he strikes me as a power bottom if anything."

Lawrence came back around in front of Ren while Nova rambled, fondly shaking his head and actually looking amused, "You just unleashed a floodgate."

Then he kneeled to reach beneath the plant table, coming back up with a watering can and a pruning knife. He started tending to the plants while Nova went off on a tangent about how none of xir clients appreciated Season Zero and how awesome Yami's Shadow Games were in the pilot season.

Ren found himself agreeing with xir, even if Seto Kaiba did have disturbingly green hair in the original.

An hour or so later they were interrupted in the middle of debating which Organization XIII member was the best (Ren claimed it was Saïx while Nova steadfastedly defended Demyx) when Lawrence began to redo Ren's restraints. He retaped each limb one at a time, keeping an iron grip on the limb he was retaping and placing the tape higher up on Ren's arms. He wound it around thicker than before.

Ren pouted, "Seriously? I'm behaving already."

"Just a precaution." Lawrence replied as he finished.

"You really think I would try to hurt Nova?" Ren asked, trying to see if he could attempt a guilt trip. A bit of a low blow tactic, but resourceful is as resourceful does.

And it did seem to work, or it at least made Lawrence cast a guilty look to the side and hunch his shoulders, "I...I don't know...but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

Ren continued to pout on the outside, but inside he cheered triumphantly. It was a small step, but he could tell that they were both beginning to like him, getting attatched to him.

Lawrence put on his jacket and disappeared into the hallway. Ren heard the metallic jingling sound of keys and the click of a lock.

And another lock.

And another lock.

And another freaking lock.

At the fifth lock Ren shot a confused look at Nova who shrugged.

"Law's paranoid as fuck." was all xe gave as explanation.

Then Nova went into the hallway too.

"Say Hi to Vince for me, 'kay?"

The same wet noise as the kiss before, only quieter, smaller.

A giggle from Nova, "You should've shaved."

"Be careful."

"I can handle him."

A snort from Lawrence, "A few sparring sessions with Farz doesn't make you a master of hand to hand combat."

"It's not like it hurt my skills."

A fond exasperated sigh, "Alright, wild warrior, I have to get going or I'll be late again."

"Alright, love you."

The door shut and Ren heard Nova relatch and relock every single lock. When xe came back into the room xe made a beeline for xir hutch, sat back down, and started to write again.

The sudden quiet gnawed at Ren for what felt like hours.

At least until nature came knocking.

"Uh, Nova?"

Xe answered with a questioning hum, still focused on typing.

"I need to pee."

The typing stopped.

For the first time, Ren saw Nova look conflicted, but the expression vanished as soon as it appeared and xe hopped up, heading for the kitchen. Ren listened for the sound of a knife or scissors, but the sound that came was of plastic.

When Nova returned, xe was holding an empty two liter soda bottle, "You're a cis guy, right?"

Oh.

Xe was smart.  
Xe wasn't about to cut him loose.  
However, that also meant xe wasn't going to let him do his business privately.

Ren nodded absently and Nova set the bottle aside, kneeling to begin undoing his pants.

"W-wait!" Ren blushed and squirmed, unable to close or draw up his legs since they were duct taped to the chair legs.

Nova ignored his wriggling, simply used it to work his jeans down a bit, xir own expression oddly blank, "Relax, I can be clinical."

Ren stilled as xe deftly extracted his mostly flaccid length. Xe raised an eyebrow at his white pubic hair, but remained silent as xe grabbed the bottle and held the opening to the slit of his dick.

Ren felt too tense to let go, even though his bladder was screaming at him. It wasn't like he hadn't been watched before, Strade had loved the way Ren would squirm with pride tinted arousal when he watched his little fox marking his territory.

It was the clinical, impersonal way Nova was handling the situation. 

It left Ren feeling cold.

"It's difficult when people are watching, isn't it?" Nova commented before pointedly shutting xir eyes, "Better?"

'No,' Ren thought, 'I want you to watch. I want you to want to watch.'

Instead, Ren grit his teeth and managed to let go, swallowing a moan as he did so. Once he finished, Nova opened xir eyes and carefully took the bottle to the bathroom, pouring it into the toilet and flushing. Xe returned to gently tuck Ren back into his underwear and somehow managed to wrangle his pants back up.

Nova went into the kitchen again and the sound of running water reached him. Xe washed xir hands before settling back down at xir computer to continue writing, as if nothing had just happened.

"I'm almost done." Nova murmured distractedly, "The endings are always the hard part for me, but after I finish this we can watch something."

A few more minutes of tapping keys passed before xe finally stopped.

"And save!" Nova chirped as xe clicked the button and spun around in xir chair. Xe leaned toward the screen, "With roughly four hours until Law gets off work."

"When's that?" Ren asked, happy that xe was done ignoring him.

Nova stood up and stretched, "He gets off at seven, but it takes him like fifteen to twenty minutes to get home, so he'll be back by seven-thirty. Then we can eat and go to bed." Then xe angled the monitor toward Ren, "Let's watch something while we wait for him."

Nova's idea of watching something turned out to mean marathoning several episodes of Ruby Gloom in one sitting. It was a cute little gothic cartoon, but Ren was starting to feel how early it was getting and how stiff he was from sitting in the chair for all those hours.

Something shifted and some of his tension eased, relief almost making him miss the small noise of wonder Nova made.

"You have fox ears." Xe murmured.

"I'm tired and stressed..." He inarticulately tried to explain, trailing off with a yawn.

Nova's voice was flat, "You grow ears and a tail when you're tired and stressed?"

"I don't have the energy to hide them." He rephrased, irritably flicking his ears and thumping his tail.

He felt xir hand at the base of his right ear, rubbing it nicely, "This is going to be interesting to explain to Law."

"You do it." Ren curled his tail around himself as best he could and let himself doze.


	4. In Which Ren And Nova Are Both 110% Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter seems a bit short.  
> I had to rewrite this entire chapter because the story wasn't going in a direction that would be resolved quickly...in other words, Nova and Lawrence kept procrastinating.
> 
> Thankfully my Nova!muse had a mood drop which allowed for a change in the pacing.  
> Also this route will get things moving a bit faster anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I'm honestly surprised when I see my Hits count go up...my passive-aggressive brain keeps telling me it's prolly people not digging my OC and just backing out or something

Everything was amplified when Ren stirred again.  
Or rather, it wasn't as dulled.

He flicked an ear in irritation.

Oh.

Well, that explained why his senses were sharper.

However, it didn't explain why Nova was reclining on the bed playing with a pink 3DS, xir expression sullen.

Ren cleared his throat, but only got a glance up in his direction before xe kept playing. It sounded like an Animal Crossing game, probably the New Leaf edition.

That scent was back again too, something herbal burning. It was overwhelming to his sensitive nose and he squinted, searching for the source. A thin tendril of smoke caught his attention. The wafting trail lead to a smoldering stick of incense held by a ceramic tree on top of Nova's computer hutch.

Ren fought the urge to sneeze and tried getting xir attention again by asking, "Where's Lawrence?"

This time xe didn't even afford him a glance, "Work."

He frowned.  
Nova was usually more talkative and eloquent than that.

"Oh. Okay. How, uh, did he react to...y'know?" He thumped his tail and rocked his head side to side.

Nova shrugged, "He thought it was neat, I guess."

Ears flattened, concerned, "You okay?"

"Fuck off."

Ren balked at the clipped reply, ears flicking up in alarm, "Woah, woah, hey...I didn't do anything to you."

"You drugged my drink at the bar." Nova deadpanned. Fanfare trumpeted from xir game. Xe must have caught something or dug up a fossil.

Ren grimaced, "I...okay yeah, I did, but not out of malice! I just wanted to bring you and Lawrence both home with me." He sighed wistfully, "It was going to be so nice, having the both of you staying with me..."

Nova apparently saved and then snapped xir game shut, "Well, congrats. You got us, just not in the way you planned."

Ren pouted openly, "Why are you acting like this? You were so friendly before."

Nova shrugged and got up to grab the other dining chair, spinning it around to sit backward in it, "I'm not used to sharing this space on the regular. How would you feel if somebody was constantly on your turf? In your territory?" Xe didn't give him time to answer, "You've been here longer than most, you know. Usually by now we've handled the problem."

Nova stood abruptly, looking frustrated, "I'm sorry...I'm...I need to decompress. I need alone time." Xe took a deep breath and turned to leave the room, but not without adding a clipped, "Behave."

Then xe marched off into the hallway, followed by a door shutting and water running. Music also suddenly came from the bathroom. Loud pop music. The water stopped, but the music stayed.

Nova was taking a bath.

Since he was alone, Ren allowed himself to sulk, bitterly glaring at his silver restraints.

The duct tape...

Ren perked.  
The duct tape wasn't against his skin, it was over his clothing, and while it was layered thick it wasn't done very tightly.

With the music at that volume, Nova was unlikely to hear if he struggled a bit...or if he left.  
After all, Ren was a very quiet person when he wanted to be.

Ren began flexing his arms, testing the slight elasticity of the duct tape. It gave more on his left arm, so he focused on wriggling his arm out of that sleeve. He almost felt like he dislocated his elbow at one point and he lost his glove, but eventually his arm was curled to his side under his pullover.

Once his arm was free, he rucked up the front of his top to let his arm out. His claws made short work of the tape holding the rest of his limbs and he carefully stood, readjusting his pullover.

He was shaking, and not just from sitting for so long.  
His brain was in overdrive.

Should he bother looking for his things?  
No.

Just getting out the door was going to be risky and time consuming enough.  
He hurried into the hallway, relieved to still hear Nova's music playing.

Ren stared at the door.  
Eight locks.  
Nova wasn't kidding when xe said Lawrence was paranoid as fuck.

He grit his teeth and started looking for keys, which ended up being predictably in a nearby planter. All the locks were quiet under his gentle hands, except for the last deadbolt which gave a solid click as it was turned.

Ren froze, ears swiveling apprehensively.

Just music and Nova's pretty voice singing along.  
He exhaled and gingerly eased the door open, slipping out into the corridor, and shut it behind himself.

His ears and tail slid back into hiding as he quickly found the stairs, taking them two at a time as he scurried down. He kept his face neutral in case he came across anyone, but the complex was quiet at this hour, most of its tenants asleep.

Ren paused at the parking lot then hurried toward the sidewalk to find a street sign and orient himself. He hissed curses as he occassionally stepped on a sharp piece of gravel with his socked feet, wishing he knew how to break into and hotwire a car.

Strade would've probably known how, he had been great with electronics and machines.

Strade wouldn't have even gotten himself into a mess like this in the first place though.

Strade, for all his headonistic indulgences, wouldn't have been so greedy, trying to take two.

Ren sighed miserably when the street name, though thankfully recogniseable, told him he would be walking for a bit to reach the upscale neighborhood where his house waited.

True enough, by the time Ren reached his street, the sky was turning a peachy yellow-pink colour and his feet were killing him. He practically cried tears of joy at seeing the house. He hastily retrieved the spare key from the mailbox and let himself in.

Ren positively purred as he let his ears and tail out in the foyer, the wonderfully familiar scents of himself and Strade washing over him, flooding his senses.  
He made a beeline for the stairs, for his room, for his nest.  
With a tired whine, he collapsed into the fur covered blankets.

I'm home.

I'm home.

I'm home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This probably sounds like an ending, but it's not.


	5. In Which Ren Gets A New Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was going to cut this into two chapters, but it honestly reads better like this, so...yeah, have fun with this long ass monstrosity xD

It had only a few hours when Ren was roused by his doorbell ringing. He snuggled further into his nest. It was probably a package being delivered since he often bought anime merchandise online, so he ignored the summons.

The ringing stopped and he began to relax again.  
Until the person started knocking, a constant and consistant rapping of knuckles.

The inceasant noise had Ren growling into his blankets before he shifted his fox features away and heaved himself up to answer the door.

It had better not be Mrs. McGurkin asking him to help her with her gutters again...

He irritably wrenched open the door, "What?!"

Golden eyes went from being narrowed in aggravation to being wide with fear at the sight of Nova and Lawrence standing on the doorstep.

Lawrence was wearing a light blue flannel under a darker blue down vest and olive green jeans. The blond looked like he really wanted to be anywhere else at that moment.

Nova was dressed in another pair of bootcut jeans with a grey tank top under what looked like the jacket Lawrence had been wearing before. Xe also had a set of wireless headphones hung around xir neck and that sharp look was back in Nova's eyes as xe greeted him, "We need to talk."

Ren panicked, nearly slamming the door shut before a metallic glint caught his eye by xir hip.

A gun.

Nova had a handgun.

Lawrence was standing on xir right, blocking the view so that no neighbors or random passerby could see xir hand.

Nova caught Ren's reaction and grinned sharply, voice light and cordial, "Nice, isn't it? A gift from Vince. Mind if we come in?"

Yes.

Yes, he very much minded.

However, Ren wordlessly backed up to let them in, eyes never once leaving the gun.

Lawrence quietly shut the door and locked it.

Ren let his ears and tail out since they were alone and crossed his arms, borderline snarling, "Are you here to kill me?"

"Well, yeah," Nova had the audacity to look bored, "That is the idea, kiddo."

He couldn't bite back his frustrated growl, "Alright look, I'm not the problem you think I am. What could I possibly do? Go to the police? Uh, hello, I'd be in hot water too for drugging you!" He sighed, still tired and longing for his nest, "Can't we just call it even?"

"No." Nova replied stubbornly, then xe scowled, actually looking disappointed, of all things, "Do you know how much stress your little stunt caused? I felt absolutely terrible since it was on my watch and poor Law had the worst anxiety attack. He's still on the mend."

Come to think of it, Lawrence did seem a bit distant to Ren, like he was zoned out and running on autopilot.

Nova, however, seemed more focused than ever, as if xe was picking up the slack for xir husband.

Ren jolted from his thoughts when xe grabbed his shoulder with xir free hand and forced him against the wall, his claws reflexively flying up to dig into xir cloth covered arm.

Nova crowded further into his space, xir volume rising and teeth bared, "Do you know how fucking awful being drugged was for me? I have emetophobia, you prick! You made me have a fucking panic attack—in public!" Then xe released his shoulder with a shove, "So no, we're not fucking even!"

There was a flash of metal to his left.

Ren flinched, expecting a bullet.

What he recieved instead was a sharp blow to the side of his head with the handgun.

————————————————

Ren was hesitant to open his eyes as he came to, the throbbing pain in his head making him just want to drift back into unconsciousness as he groaned at the discomfort. Once he did open his eyes, he couldn't help the whimper that bubbled up in his throat.

The basement...

Ren glanced down at himself, unsurprised that he couldn't move his limbs.

They'd been busy while he was unconscious.

He was sitting in one of the high-backed chairs from the mostly unused dining room, his ankles secured to the legs by zipties. His arms were drawn back behind him, also ziptied.

Nova and Lawrence weren't taking any chances.

Why hadn't they taken him back to the appartment though?  
He had figured the pair of homebodies would prefer having the home field advantage.

Then he noticed Nova eagerly perusing through the tools with bright brown eyes, like a kid in a candy store.

Oh no.

There was movement to Ren's left and his eyes darted to the stairs, spotting Lawrence sitting on the steps.

"Nova, he's awake."

"I heard him." Nova replied without looking, tone blithe and disinterested as xe inspected a pair of Strade's leather gloves.

"Aren't you done snooping?" Lawrence actually looked like he was pouting, arms crossed over his chest.

Ren mentally scolded himself for the intrusive thought that Lawrence looked cute like that.

"I am not snooping, I am investigating." Lawrence's spouse retorted, finally turning to look at them both, "What? Are you in a rush to settle this?"

Lawrence averted his eyes, mumbling, "Kind of..."

"Always so impatient, just wishing they'd die faster." Nova lamented as xe pulled on the gloves, flexing xir hands. The black leather wasn't as snug as when Strade wore them since xir hands were thinner than the german's.

"W-wait!" Ren found his voice and tried appealing to reason, "Doesn't Lawrence have a job? He'll miss work if you guys kill me."

Unfortunately, Nova seemed unconcerned as to xir husband's attendance record and xe merely held out xir gloved hand to Lawrence expectantly.

"Phone." Nova prompted flatly and Lawrence handed a flip phone over without any hesitation. Then xe placed a call, xir voice becoming much higher pitched and cheerful once someone answered, "Hello? Yes, this is Lawrence Oleander's wife...yes, mmhm...I'm afraid my husband won't be in tonight or friday for that matter. He's sick...yes, the poor dear caught the stomach flu...mmhm, yeah...I will, bye-bye."

Xe ended the call and handed back the cell, which Lawrence took wordlessly. 

Ren cocked an eyebrow incredulously, "Stomach flu? Seriously?"

Nova shrugged at Ren's unimpressed expression and brought a hand up to rub soothing circles on xir husband's upper back, "What? It wasn't a total lie. His stomach is actually a little messed up from all the anxiety."

Lawrence huffed and kept his eyes firmly on the floor.

Ren bit his lip to keep from smiling too noticeably.  
There was that cute pout again.

"Still iffy?" Nova asked quietly.

Lawrence hid his eyes behind his bangs and gave a stiff nod.

Nova's tone remained quiet, gentle, "Babe, what do you need?"

"You." Lawrence answered without hesitation, then he rubbed his arms and sighed, "I feel hot and cold all at once and I just want this to be over so we can go home."

"Working on it." Nova said simply and Ren's gaze snapped over to xir as xe cocked xir handgun.

He had forgotten xe had that.  
He was more focused on the plethora of knives and power tools xe could have chosen.  
He wasn't used to guns.

Strade had only kept one pistol which was still sitting in the german's bedside drawer.  
And Ren only knew about it because of the time a burglar tried to break in and rob them.

It was a surprisingly fond memory...

A noise from the living room had easily woken Ren, though it took some serious shoulder shaking to rouse Strade. After hearing a muffled voice through the walls, Strade grabbed a knife from under the pillow and the gun from within his nightstand. Strade had looked unusually serious when he ordered his fox to stay in the bedroom before he slipped out into the hallway, blade at the ready. The german didn't actually use the pistol in the end, but he had still tucked it into his belt as a backup to his favoured knife.

Of couse, needless to say, Strade wound up having fun with their univited guest and the chat stream seemed to enjoy the would-be robber too.

Ren shook himself, coming back to the present where Strade wasn't around to possessively protect him.

"Oh, almost forgot." Nova placed the gun on the work bench and slipped the headphones from xir neck, repositioning them over xir ears.

Ren cocked his own ears in xir direction, but xe wasn't listening to anything as xe picked the gun back up.

"Law, baby, cover your ears." Nova smiled and a glint of metal was the only warning Ren got before xe shot his left thigh.

Ren didn't scream at first, just numbly looked at the hole suddenly in his leg and the blossoming red soaking his jeans. A heartbeat later and the sudden sharp flash of pain tore a delayed scream from the fox.

"Wow, that's loud without earplugs! My headphones barely helped!" Nova yelled through the ringing in his sensitive ears. Xir own hearing must have been affected too.

When he finally managed to look up through teary eyes he saw Lawrence cringing by the stairs with hands over his ears while Nova was searching through the cabinets.

Ren choked back a sob.

Oh god what was xe going to use on him next?

His brain finally kicked into survival mode and he began pleading through the tears, "I'm...I'm s-s-sorry, I—"

"No you're not!"

Ren fliched sharply.

Even through the ringing he could hear the venom in Nova's voice as xe whirled on him. He let out a reflexive yelp when xir hand pressed to his throat, fingers and thumb tucked into the hollows under his jaw. Xir brown eyes were cold, pools of murky water that threatened to drag him down and drown him.

Nova's tone was just as icy as xe calmly continued, "You're not sorry. You're just scared. There's a difference."

Xe held his throat for a moment longer, then xir grip went slack and xe kneeled to reveal the object xe had been searching for; The first aid kit.

Despite Nova's previous cold fury, xe was smiling again.

And Ren thought he himself shifted moods quickly...

The first thing xe got from the kit was a pair of scissors which xe used to cut his jeans away, revealing the still bleeding gunshot wound. Xe used a scrap of denim to put pressure on it while xe fished around for something to disinfect the wound.

Nova lit up as xe cleaned and inspected his thigh, "Awesome, a clean shot and I missed your femoral artery, lucky you!"

Was he lucky?  
The waves of white hot pain pulsing through his leg every time it was prodded by xir fingers made him skeptical.

"Tilt your hips a bit." Xe ordered him, already worming xir hand under his thigh to make room.

Ren grit his teeth and did as he was told despite the pain. He knew from experience that defiance would get him nowhere and he needed xir to fix him up before he bled out.

Nova continued to ramble as xe rolled out the gauze and began wrapping the wound, "Did you know only one out of seven people survive a gunshot? Most die from blood loss and even the ones that live usually have to deal with shattered bones." Xe shot him a manic grin, "Luckily, I missed both the artery and the bone!"

Ren tried to smile back appeasingly, but it was undermined by how his ears were flat against his hair.

Xe secured the bandage and packed the kit back up before xe stood.

"At least this should insure that if you do manage to weasel your way out of your restraints again, you'll be slower this time. Not that we plan to give you the opportunity, of course." Nova gave his leg a light pat once xe finished and Ren flinched.

Nova placed the first aid kit on the work bench and turned to where xir husband was pacing in front of the stairs. Xe opened xir arms invitingly and Lawrence immediately stepped into xir space, clinging and nuzzling his face into xir ginger hair.

Nova gave him a grounding squeeze before murmuring into his shoulder, "We can't keep postponing this, we need to take care of the problem. If you need me to, I can be the one to kill him. There's plenty of tools for me to use here."

"I don't want you to have to clean up my mess..." Lawrence's reply was greatly muffled. It almost seemed like he was trying to hide his larger form within xir embrace, allowing xir deft fingers to remove his hair tie and begin running through the strands.

"Let me take care of you." Nova gave his hair one last comb through with xir fingers before moving away and eyeing the tools hung above the work bench, "Let me get rid of the problem."

"You keep saying I'm a problem," Ren huffed a frustrated and protesting whine, "But I told you, don't have to be one! You can keep me and I'll behave, I swear!"

Nova snorted dismissively as xe browsed Strade's knife collection with interest, "Not the first time I've heard that song and dance, buddy. If you had behaved in the first place then you could've had some nice drugs and died painlessly...but I don't have any numbing agents to give you here, so you'll have to feel it all."

Ren's tail betrayed his anxiety, coming up to protectively curl around himself.

"Ayy, I like this." Nova smiled as xe selected a medium sized knife from the drawer. To his relief, xe didn't get started right away and instead chose to wander behind him, exploring the basement leisurely, "You have some nice toys, Ren, and not just the stabby-rip-stab-stab kind either. Is that a table saw?"

"Uh, yes?" Ren craned his neck, trying to see where xe was.

"Oooh, do you keep popsicles down here?" Nova asked excitedly from directly behind him.

Ren's ears snapped up sharply in alarm, "N-no, wait!"

His plea went unheard.

There was a suctioned crack.

Silence.

Then a flat, "There's a dead guy in here."

Ren swallowed, "That...that's Strade."

Nova gave a considering hum, "He's cute. A little colder than I prefer though. Room temp is best."

Ren blinked at that curious statement, interest sparking back to life despite his discomfort, "For what, exactly?"

Nova sounded like xe was going to reply, but then xe gave a sheepish laugh, "Sorry, I'd love to tell you, but I've already said too much. Law's giving me his Up-Shut-Your-Fuck look."

He looked to where Lawrence was still standing by the stairs and sure enough, the blond had that murderous look from the alley. Only this time it was fortunately not directed at Ren.  
His hair was also back up in its usual low ponytail, though his part was clearly visible due to the lack of a brush.

Nova sounded like xe was fighting giggles and Ren wondered if xe had a death wish, because Lawrence did not look happy with xir and his glare only darkened at xir mirth.

"He doesn't need to know that." Lawrence ground out, casting furtive glances over at Ren.

"Why not?" Nova retorted flippantly as xe came back around into Ren's view, "Not like he's going to tell anyone. Unless he finds someone to gossip with in the River."

"But it's..." Lawrence trailed off, searching for the proper word, "It's personal, just between you and me. Just like the River is."

Ren's hands shifted with restless dread behind his back, "You're going to dump my body in a river?"

"Don't worry about it." Nova waved him off nonchalantly before turning back to Lawrence, "Look if you don't want to kill him outright then we need to talk."

Ren's golden eyes were hopeful and his tail swished against the basement floor, "You've spared people before?"

"No, no." Nova corrected quickly, holding up a finger, "The closest we came to that was this one girl named Cindy."

Lawrence blushed, looking wistful and fond, "She really was special..."

At Ren's curious stare, Nova began to explain.

"Cindy got out of the chair just like you, but she did it in the middle of the day and instead of trying to leave, she crawled into our bed. She asked if she could sleep with us and we let her." Xe said as xe used the knife to carve something into the wood of the work bench. Probably something ridiculously cliche like Nova Was Here. Xe paused to blow off the wood shavings before continuing, "When we woke up before her, we had a talk. We had become a bit enamoured with her, so we were reluctant to kill her like we did the others."

"She was too precious for that." Lawrence chimed in.

"Right, but you still killed her." Nova said pointedly, "You just did it more...intimately."

Lawrence gave a small smile and tucked a strand of loose hair behind his ear, murmuring more to himself, "It was so soft and warm inside...her heart pulsing in my hand..."

Ren shivered and licked his lips.  
He knew that feeling all too well and he squirmed restlessly, suddenly aching to sink his fangs into something bloody.

Nova's voice quickly snapped him out of it though, "Well, if you want to take your time with Ren like that, I'm game."

Lawrence shook his head and, to Ren's surprise, said, "You like him more than I do."

"Just cause I think he's cute doesn't mean I want to root around in his innards." Nova retorted, a hint of a smile on xir freckled face, "But fine, I'll get this show on the road." Then xe gripped the knife properly and approached Ren, placing a hand on the juncture of his neck and shoulder to steady him, "Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll try to be gentle."

"Wait, please, I—" Ren stilled as he felt the blade settle against his throat, preparing to cut, and he made a last frantic bid for survival, "Please! There's a collar and remote upstairs on the loveseat! It's electric and won't let me leave the house! You...you can put it on me..."

The blade was cold against his neck, but xe made no move to press it further and slice. He stifled a relieved sob.

Ren hated that collar.  
But if it was a choice between wearing his old collar or being killed, he'd take the collar.

"Why do you have a shock collar?" Nova asked flatly as xe took the knife away from his throat.

Ren bit his lip.  
He knew he'd have to tell them about Strade if he wanted to convince them. He was still reluctant to open up, though.

He glanced at the knife still held near him and gave a resigned sigh, nodding his head back toward the freezer behind himself, "The guy in the freezer...Strade, he made me wear it so he could keep me."

Nova raised an eyebrow pointedly, "And you killed him."

"No!" Ren protested imploringly, "That was someone else, someone he brought home from a bar. They took each other down. I just...I just stood there...watching as he bled out..." He felt the sting of tears welling up as he recounted that night, dropping his head to scream at the basement floor, "WHY DIDN'T I DO ANYTHING?!" He felt a few tears hit his lap, soaking into denim and gauze. He was starting to shake, "I was just f-frozen, thinking about all the t-times he'd hurt me..."

Nova's voice was unusually quiet as xe asked, "He hurt you? Like when you misbehaved? ...Or just for fun?"

Ren gave a watery laugh, "Both. Usually when things were quiet and he was bored. He liked it when I screamed..."

Nova silently placed the knife on the floor and xir legs disappeared from his slumped over view. He heard xir quietly, but firmly say to Lawrence, "We need to talk, upstairs."

There were twin thumping sounds as the couple left him alone in the basement.

Ren didn't look up when he heard them finally come back downstairs, but he knew his swiveling ears showed that he was alert.

A pair of green legs stepped in front of him.  
Lawrence.

"We talked about it and we found your collar thing." Lawrence explained quietly and when Ren raised his head, he saw that the blond was indeed holding the metal contraption.

Ren looked over at Nova who was perched on top of the counter and examining the remote. He returned his attention to Lawrence, "So you're going to keep me?"

Lawrence nodded, "Like I said, we talked it over and, well...we agreed it would be nice for Nova to have someone to hang out with when I'm gone and Vincent isn't off work either."

"I'd call Farz over more often, but I can only take so much of his edgelord-supreme-fight-me personality." Nova muttered, more to xirself than him and Lawrence.

Lawrence gave a small laugh, eyes averted, "Heh, yeah..." Then he looked Ren over, "So, uh, just let me..." He trailed off and held the open collar out.

Ren eyed it sadly, but obediantly bared his neck for Lawrence to put it on him, the collar clicking as it locked.

"Have you figured it out?" Lawrence asked.

"I think so." Nova replied, hopping off the counter, "Nothing's labeled, but I'm pretty sure I know what the big red one does."

Ren couldn't help the way he involuntarily tensed, years of associative conditioning making him instinctively prepare for pain.

Of course Nova noticed.

"I don't plan on using it unless you misbehave, Ren." Nova assured him before xir voice gained a hard edge, "I'm not going to hurt you just for shits and giggles. I only hurt what I plan to kill." Then xe addressed Lawrence, "You can cut him loose."

Lawrence grabbed the discarded knife from the floor and kneeled to saw at the zipties holding Ren's legs. Ren gave a sigh of relief when Lawrence freed his wrists. The blond backed up to give Ren some space and the fox brought his arms in front of himself, rubbing at where the zipties had dug in.

Finally, he went to stand and cried out when he felt a stab of pain.

Oh, right.  
The gunshot wound.

He grit his teeth and tried again, this time managing to get mostly upright before he faltered.

"Woah there, buddy!" Nova said as xe stepped forward to catch him.

Ren inwardly cringed and wondered how he was going to broach the subject of that particular word with xir. 

"Looks like we both forgot about that, huh?" Xe looked over at Lawrence and gestured with xir head at Ren, "Law, can you...?"

Lawrence looked confused for a moment, then it clicked in his expression. He stepped closer and scooped Ren up bridal style, careful to avoid putting pressure on Ren's thigh.

Ren didn't protest, just instinctively wrapped his arms around Lawrence's neck and curled his tail around the blond's waist.

"You're always lighter than I expect." Lawrence remarked as they followed Nova up the stairs so xe could open the heavy door for them.

For some reason, the comment made Ren blush and curl closer, nuzzling the stubble along the blond's jaw.  
However, he quickly realised that was a bad idea when Lawrence made a choked noise and nearly missed a step.

Nova heard and covered xir mouth in vain, xir laugh escaping through xir nose.

Lawrence gave that cute pout again as he deposited Ren onto the couch, and the fox curled up on the familiar furniture.

Nova plopped down on the opposite end, "You know this means we're gonna have to move in, right?"

Lawrence gave an inquisitive hum and xe repeated xirself, "We have to live here. The collar is programed for this house."

Blue eyes widened then as Lawrence started panicking all over again, pacing on the living room's plush carpet, "That...oh geez, this was a bad idea...just getting the plants here is going to be—"

"Hey," Nova's firm voice made him pause, "Stop. Breathe. Just call Vince, he has a truck. He can help us move shit."

Lawrence swallowed, but nodded, fishing out his phone and disappearing into the kitchen to place the call.

"That man, I swear...always overthinking." Nova shook xir head fondly, then waved Ren over, "C'mere."

Ren cautiously uncurled when Nova beckoned him to xir side, trying to ignore the twinge in his thigh. He allowed himself to genuinely smile when xe gestured for him to put his head in xir lap and any remaining tension immediately drained when xe began running xir fingers through his hair, massaging the base of his ears. Ren didn't bother trying to hide the happy thumping of his tail or the way he leaned into the touch, silently asking for more.

"Hey, look on the bright side," Nova said as xe continued rubbing his ears affectionately, "You wanted us to live with you, right?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, the set up is mostly through and we can hopefully start with the kinky shit soon if my muses behave


	6. In Which Ren Might Be Dissociating Just A Bit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And honestly, Lawrence probably is too.

Barely half an hour later had Lawrence heading out to meet up with Vincent, but not without reminding Nova to keep xir guard up.

He needn't have bothered though.  
Ren was far too tired from the past few days and Nova's hands had decent nails which felt lovely in his fur, so he wasn't feeling particularly rebellious at the moment.

Ren sat curled up to Nova for a bit after they heard Lawrence pull off. Then Nova extracted xirself from the comfortable embrace to stand.

Xe stretched and removed Lawrence's jacket, revealing xir tattoos as xe groaned, "If I know Vince, he's gonna want something warm to eat as payment, so I should probably try to throw something together." Brown eyes looked him over, "I get the feeling you don't want to be alone after such an emotional day."

Ren gave a shy smile.  
It was true, he didn't really want to be all alone with his thoughts just yet after everything he had experienced in the basement. He honestly just wanted to curl up and sleep, preferably with a warm person instead of his Miku Hatsune body pillow.

"Alrighty then, up we go!" Nova rubbed xir hands together theatrically and braced xirself.

Ren squeaked in surprise when xe hefted him up. Xir grip wasn't nearly as secure as Lawrence's, but xe managed to carry Ren into the kitchen and set him on a stool by the island counter.

Nova took a deep breath, hands on xir hips, "Okay! Now let me see what I can find."

"There's stuff in the fridge, chicken, steak. Sides too." Ren offered, "I can help."

Nova shook xir head, "No, you sit and try not to move that leg."

Xe quickly began rummaging through the fridge and cabinets, selecting a few items and placing them haphazardly on whatever counter happened to be closest.

Chocolate brownie mix, white rice, cream of chicken, chocolate chips...

Ren watched in consternation as xe fluttered around the kitchen grabbing measuring cups and a mixing bowl.

Nova suddenly stopped in the middle of the kitchen, still holding the large bowl, "Do you have any mint?"

Ren balked, confused at the inquiry, "Uh, maybe? I bought a variety pack of seasonings the last time I went grocery shopping. It'd be in the cabinets above the stove."

Xe wasted no time in setting the bowl aside to clamber up onto the stove, balancing dangerously on xir knees as xe rooted around in said cabinets. Then xe gave a triumphant cheer, "Found some extract! Ooh, and rosemary."

Ren just nodded and tried to smile.

All the noise and flurry of activity felt distant, his head seemed to be both light yet full, like it was stuffed with cotton. He felt strangely content, or rather complacent, just sitting quietly with his eyes focused on the granite countertop. He heard xir mixing ingredients and saying something, but it was all just sound.

Nova seemed fine with his silence though, possibly a by-product of living with xir quiet husband, so Ren adjusted on the stool, pillowing his head on his arms and dozed off to the sound of Nova's humming.

A hand in his hair woke him slowly, the feeling too pleasent to startle him. He flicked his ears and heard Nova coo something about how cute he was. There was a warm, sweet scent hovering as he opened his eyes, blinking sleepily in the kitchen lighting. Once his eyes adjusted, they focused on the plate in front of him on the island counter. It held a stack of brown squares, the source of the smell.

"Brownies?" Ren asked, tail sweeping curiously around the stool.

"Be careful if you take one, they're still hot." Nova warned as xe left his side.

Ren tried to be patient as xe fiddled around with a pot of rice, but his growling stomach won out in the end.

The brownie square was still very warm which made the cool flash of the mint that much starker. Chocolate chips crunched pleasently as he chewed and added a touch of sweetness to the dark chocolate brownie. Ren didn't even try to keep his tail from thumping noisily against the stool in his contentment, he was too focused on enjoying the indulgent square.

Nova really knew how to bake.  
He wondered if xir regular cooking was just as good.  
If it was then Lawrence was a lucky man.

Ren licked his teeth once he'd finished, seeking out where the brownie got pressed down into his molars, "Where'd you learn to cook like that?"

There was the wet slap of meat hitting the cutting board and then the sound of a kitchen knife against the wooden surface, "I have lots of free time between writing commissions, plenty of practice."

Ren voiced his earlier thought, "Your husband is lucky."

Xe laughed, "He complains that I've ruined him, that regular restaurants just don't compare anymore." The laugh turned softer, more fond, "It's nice, seeing him enjoy something I made."

Ren watched xir back as xe sliced away at the whole chicken he'd bought the other day. He had mostly wanted the organs inside and he wondered where xe had put them, especially the heart.

"But yeah, Law has his plants and concoctions, and I have my cooking and writing." Nova's arms were showcased as xe worked, black bands stark against xir pale freckled skin.

A comfortable silence settled between them, only broken by the sounds of the knife.

Then Ren asked, "So where'd the idea for those come from?"

Nova stopped, blade poised halfway through making a slice, "The idea for what? Chicken and rice?"

So that's what xe was making.

"No, the tattoos. You and Lawrence both have these bands around your arms." He clarified, "Was it a wedding thing?"

Nova shook xir head and continued slicing as xe told him the story behind their ink, "It wasn't. The tattoos happened when we were twenty. They were Law's idea, he wanted to have some kind of...barrier, I guess? He likes feeling detatched from his arms, it calms him for some reason." Xe paised mid-chop to shrug, "I got them too because I just liked how they look, and because it was another thing we could share."

Xe finished cutting up the chicken and began seasoning the pan.

Ren wasn't completely sure what all xe was using, but he could definitely smell garlic powder if nothing else.

He smiled and propped his head up on his hand, elbow on the counter top, "You guys are really close, huh? I'm jealous."

"Envious." Nova stated curtly.

Ren squinted and made an inquisitive noise.

Xe carefully placed each piece of chicken in the frying pan as xe explained, "Jealousy is the fear that what you have will be taken by others, whereas envy is longing for what someone else possesses. The two are not interchangable."

Ren blinked owlishly, "Oh...uh, okay?"  
He craned his head to try and see the pan, sharp sizzling sounds and the smell of herbed chicken were flooding his senses.

Oh, how lovely...

Nova's sheepish laugh snapped him back to attention, "Sorry, it's a bit of a habit. Lawrence both loves and hates when I do that to him. Vincent and Farz both just hate it." Xe sighed dramatically, "I'm surrounded by such tempermental men."

Xe finished up the chicken and rice in silence then, making up four plates and placing all the large frying pan lids the kitchen had on them to keep in the heat.

Ren heard the vehicle long before he heard the footsteps outside and the doorbell ringing.

Nova meandered up to the front door, letting the stranger ring a few more times before calling out.

"Who is it?" Xe sing-songed.

"It's the Fuller Brush Man. Who the fuck d'you think?" A gruff voice replied sarcasticly.  
It certainly wasn't Lawrence. This guy sounded too aggressive, too...southern.

Ren anxiously tucked his ears and tail away, just in case.

"I'm sorry, who?" Nova was holding in giggles at this point, like they were playing a game.

A frustrated sigh, before the guy grudgingly recited, "Little pig, little pig, let me the fuck in."

It seemed like he was too irritated to recite the story lines couthly...

Nova turned the deadbolt and let the stranger in.

A tall, muscular man in a leather jacket stepped past xir, carrying a plastic milk crate filled with clothes, "Why do you insist on making me say that every damn time? I was even nice and brought you your shit." He placed the crate on the floor and wandered into the kitchen, whistling, "Nice place."

"Isn't it? I'm seriously looking forward to moving out of that appartment." Nova grabbed the crate and headed for the living room, calling over xir shoulder, "Oh, Vincent, this is Ren. Ren this is Vincent, he works with Law and plays with us sometimes. Speaking of, where's Farz?"

"He, uh, had a thing...at a place..." Vincent answered distractedly, eyeing Ren up and down with a silvery grey eye. His right one was hidden by dark bangs.

Nova snorted as xe came back without the crate, "A thing at a place? Seriously?"

Vincent ignored xir quip, instead gesturing at Ren, "Where the hell'd you find a beast-kin?"

Ren's eyes widened and he let his ears pop out, tail swishing behind him curiously. How did this guy know what Ren was from just a glance?

"A bar." Nova answered before Ren could, "He drugged me and Law punched him."

Vincent growled, teeth bared, "So why's he here instead of a shallow grave out in the woods?"

"Ren is surprisingly well behaved and fun to hang out with. I think he was just lonely." Xe reasoned, draping xir free arm around Ren's shoulders.

"That relaxed adittude's gonna get you killed one day." Vincent sighed, peeling off his jacket and placing it on the kitchen counter.

Nova raised an eyebrow, "There's a coat rack in the foyer."

Vincent pointedly knocked his jacket onto the floor in defiance.

Nova rolled xir eyes fondly, then dryly said to Ren, "A real charmer, isn't he?"

Ren was about to reply when a scent hit his nose.  
The scent of something not quite human.  
Werewolf.

Lawrence and Nova were friends with a freaking werewolf.

Did they even know?  
Was that why neither of them had been weirded out by Ren's own animalistic side?

"Aw hell yeah, you made brownies?" Vincent swiped a square before Nova could stop him.

Still, xe held the tray away from him, tone teasing, "I thought chocolate was bad for dogs?"

So they did know about the werewolf thing.

"Fuck off." Vincent replied through a mouthful of brownie, "S'the least you can do after makin' me haul that big ass collection of plants ya'll got."

"Those are Law's." Nova pointed out.

"Heh, then maybe he owes me a little playtime." Vincent's grin was downright lecherous, making Ren blush despite not being the target of the werewolf's intentions. A shuffling sound came from the front door and as Lawrence stepped across the kitchen threshold, Vincent crowed, "Ayy, there's the man himself! We were just talking 'bout you."

Lawrence observed the kitchen and its occupants almost warily, "What for?"

"I think Vince wants to play." Nova purred as xe wrapped xir arms around the werewolf's neck, nuzzling at the scar that peeked out from his tank top.

Vincent gave a pleased rumble and his hands settled on xir hips, "Damn, you're gagging for it. When's the last time Law gave you a good dicking?"

Ren saw Lawrence immediately flush red at the question, the blond hunching his shoulders up defensively.

"Before we left for the bar nearly a week ago." Nova pouted, whining accusingly, "He wouldn't do anything while we had Ren there, not even in the shower."

Vincent shot Lawrence an incredulous glare, "Seriously? That's cold, Law. Y'got a cute lil thing like Nova begging for your dick on the regular and you get shy just 'cause you got a visitor? I dunno how you keep your hands or your dick to yourself, man."

Lawrence was doing that cute pout again, his eyes averted and voice quiet, "I just do..."

"Alright, alright," Nova intervened before Vincent could make another remark, "As much as I love teasing my husband—and I do—I can tell we're about a jab and a half away from making him seriously uncomfortable." Then xe turned to ask Ren, "I assume there's a spare bedroom?"

Ren nodded, "Yeah, down the hall and to the right. It's already furnished though."

"I'll consolidate." Xe replied blithely as xe carried the milk crate back into the hallway, Lawrence on xir heels with a crate of his own.

The moment the couple vanished into the guest room, Vincent suddenly turned on Ren and he cowered as Vincent leaned in close, trapping him against the counter.

Ren's ears were slicked back anxiously as the werewolf bared his teeth, snarling low and dangerous, "If anything happens to either of 'em, I'm gonna string you up with barbed wire and use you as my new punching bag. You hear me, fox?"

Ren nodded his head frantically, tail curling around himself protectively.

"Glad we have an understanding." Vincent grinned sharply, seeming satisfied by that and nodded to himself as he stood back. He rolled his shoulders, "I know you can smell me, just like I can smell you. And before you ask; yeah, they know." Then he headed for the front door, "I'm gonna grab another box. You stay here."

Great, now the werewolf was giving him orders.

Ren crossed his arms on the island counter and buried his head in them. Part of him was relieved to be back under somone's protective wing, but another part lamented his lost freedom.

"Did you boys just grab the basics or did you dismantle everything?" Nova asked as xe stepped back into the kitchen, "Oh, did Vince head back out to grab more things?"

Ren barely picked his head up to hum and affirmative, but xe didn't seem to notice his low mood.

"I hope they didn't push themselves to pack up everything, that hidden drawer bedframe was a bitch for Law to put together when we got it." Nova mused, more to xirself than Ren, "They were gone for hours though, so I can't imagine they didn't clean the whole place out."

"We did and it was ridiculous." Lawrence piped up from the doorway. Ren glanced up and noticed that his vest was missing and his sleeves were rolled up. The blond sighed, "Remind me why we have so many books? There's three boxes worth of them, one of which is strictly manga."

"And here they are, ya fuckin' weeb." Vincent announced as he came back inside carrying said box, "The other two are by the door. After those all that's left is furniture, a box of kitchen supplies, and your computer crap."

Nova snorted as xe went to grab a box, "That 'computer crap' is my job, you ass."

It took the three of them an hour or two to get everything into the house, including their old mattress which had to be wiggled awkwardly through the door and leaned against the hallway wall for the time being.

Ren watched it all from his stool perch.  
Even if he had wanted to help, he would have only been able to relay the boxes once inside. He couldn't even get too close to the door without the collar going off.

It was also amusing to watch as Nova ocassionally made flirty comments about how strong both Lawrence and Vincent were, especially since their reactions were so different yet similar.

Vincent obviously loved the attention and would brazenly show off, flexing with a cocky grin.

Lawrence, on the other hand, seemed almost embarrassed, except for the fact that he had a little more pep—a subtle sign that he was enjoying the attention as well.

"Fuckin' finally..." Vincent groaned once they were done, sprawling out on the couch.

"Dinner should still be warm," Nova said, already heading for the kitchen, "You wanna use the dining room or should we just eat wherever we are?"

Lawrence gave a light laugh, "If I know you, you'd rather eat lying on the floor."

"What? Floors are comfy." Nova shrugged as xe removed the lids and delivered each plate and fork to the intended person, "I usually would have made green beans or spinach as a side with this kind of dish, but all I found were mashed potatoes and corn which would have been too much starch."

"Lies and slander, there's no such thing as too much starch." Vincent scoffed before he dug in voraciously.

Ren snorted around a mouthful of rice, although he was inclined to agree.  
He was happy with the food though, the rice was sticky and creamy from the cream of chicken soup that xe had mixed in and it worked as a great neutral base for the heavily seasoned chicken.

No one really spoke much as they ate, the past day seeming to catch up with everyone in one way or another.

Ren frowned.  
Didn't Nova and Lawrence usually sleep during the day?  
That meant they must have been awake for nearly twenty-four hours by now.

Nova started to get up from the living room floor when Vincent put a hand out, "Nah, I got the clean-up."

Xe smiled wryly and let him take xir plate, "Such a gentleman."

The werewolf laughed as he placed the collected dishes in the sink, "Only outside the bedroom...and when I'm not in a bar."

"C'mon, Law," Nova caught xir husband by the elbow and lead him down the hall, "I wanna get a closer look at the sheets on this bed. They look comfy, but I might need your help changing them if they aren't."

This left Ren alone with Vincent once again, but the werewolf seemed content to just clean the worst off the dishes before leaving them to soak.

Neither Nova or Lawrence had said the fox couldn't vacate to his room, so he gingerly slipped down off the stool. His feet had just hit the floor when he heard Nova's voice.

"Oh Vincent~" Nova called sweetly, leaning out of the guest bedroom to wave a tube of KY, "Look what I found in one of my shirts. You up for a little dessert?"

"Law still awake and on board?" Vincent asked with thinly veiled interest as he dropped the last plate into the sink to soak.

"Yep!" Nova chirped, "So get your ass in here before he panics and thinks you don't like him anymore or something."

Vincent dried his hands and made a beeline for their room, leaving Ren feeling adrift.

He had planned to just escape to his room to sort out everything, but now he was curious.  
Ren knew what they were planning to do together, sure, but it was the details that had him uncertainly creeping down the hallway. His ears were alert, catching the barely muffled sounds that had started to come from the bedroom.

Nova suddenly popped out from the doorway, making him jump and his tail bush up in alarm, but xe just nonchalantly asked, "Oh good, you're walking okay. You gonna join in, Ren?"

His eagerness must have been written all over his face, because Nova simply tugged him into the room by his pullover.

The bedside lamp was dimmed from having a straw sunhat draped over it, but Ren could easily see everything once his eyes quickly adjusted to the low lighting.

Both men were sprawled out on the bed with Vincent pinning Lawrence and seemingly trying to use the blond's neck as his new chew toy. From the noises Lawrence was making and how his hips kept jolting up with each bite, the blond clearly didn't mind.

Ren startled when Nova hugged him from behind, and when he peered back at xir over his shoulder xe was giving him a look that was brimming with playful lust.

Oh.

Now this—this Ren could work with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They all prolly need a nap rather than sex, but whatever...


	7. In Which Ren Loses A Pair Of Skinny Jeans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter took so freaking longggg

Ren squirmed and gave a whine as Nova began mouthing at his neck and feeling him up, gentle hands slipping underneath his pullover and teasing already warm skin.  
Orange eyes fluttered shut in bliss, only to snap back open at the indignant yelp from the bed.

Lawrence was half sitting up, his flannel shirt quite literally torn open, and he was glaring at the werewolf, "Nova just fixed the buttons on that shirt, Vincent!"

Vincent didn't even look sheepish as he leaned in to push the shirt off the blond's shoulders and make marks along his chest, his sort-of-apology muffled by skin, "I'll buy you a new one."

"That's not the p—" Lawrence was cut off by a rough kiss, Vincent literally growling as he nipped sharply at the blond's lip.

A nose nuzzling the side of his hair brought Ren's attention back to Nova. Xe hummed in amusement as xe moved up to nuzzle his ear, "Heh, I keep forgetting that your ears are up here instead of on the side."

His ear flicked involuntarily at the way xir breath tickled and he gave a quiet chuckle, "Yeah, I know it's probably a little odd, but—"

"Nah," Nova cut in with a playful laugh, "I think they're neat."

Then xe licked his ear, following the grain of his fur upward, and Ren thought his legs would liquify right then and there. A low warbling moan left the fox and he had to blink his eyes to make them focus again.

"Is that nice?" Nova asked, surprisingly devoid of smugness.

"Yes!" Ren was quick to answer, hopeful that xe would keep doing it.

Nova took the hint and leaned over to drag xir tongue up his other ear, the fox melting into xir embrace. He distantly thought he could feel xir piercings through xir grey tank top, bumpy metal stark amid the softness of xir breasts.

Ren barely contained an aroused growl as he turned in xir hold, tail possessively curling around xir hips.

Nova didn't even look surprised and met his growl by playfully baring xir teeth, flashing xir own smaller canines at him.

He knew his slit pupils must have been huge as he looked up at xir. The taller ginger easily had seven or eight inches on him even without xir heeled boots. With them on xe was almost taller than xir husband, though that might have been because Lawrence slouched so much.

Speaking of Lawrence, Ren could hear the blond behind him giving pleased sighs and hums in response to whatever Vincent was doing. Ren's ears were angled back to catch the soft noises as he leaned in to nuzzle under Nova's jaw, pressing careful open-mouthed kisses to the soft skin. A hand cupped his face, coaxing him from the nook.

He gave xir a confused look before a tug at his pullover got his attention. He hastily maneuvered out of the top, baring his scarred torso. By the time he'd gotten it over and off he saw that xe had removed xir own top a bit quicker, the grey tank top tossed on the floor and xir breasts bared. The silvery metal of xir piercings caught the fading sun from the window, glinting against xir pale pink nipples. Xir aereola was almost indistinguishable, blending into the rest of xir boob in the low light.

Nova stepped in a bit before enveloping Ren in a skin on skin hug. He found himself practically melting into the pleasent warmth as he reciprocated it, his tail curling around xir again. They swayed a bit and xir hand swept up and down his back ocassionally.

It was only after a few moments that Ren noticed that Nova hadn't pulled away yet. In fact, xe seemed content to just hold him. It wasn't until Ren himself made to pull away that xe leaned back. 

Then xe leaned in more directly, tilting xir head to slot their lips together. Ren perked and felt his tail uncurl and swish excitedly behind him as he nipped sharply into the kiss. Nova took the cue and opened xir mouth. He eagerly slipped his tongue in only to be met by a gentle but firm resistance as xe held fast to the control of the kiss. They ocassionally broke apart to readjust, but every time Ren tried to amp it up and get frisky, Nova schooled the kiss back into the gentle softness that he was starting to associate with xir.

When they broke apart for the last time Nova began lavishing the rest of him with attention, pressing small frantic kisses to his neck and chest. It was like xe couldn't get enough of him and he loved it. He didn't bother to curb the pleased little growls that bubbled up from all the affection.

Nova eased down to kneel in front of him and began to take off his jeans, but unfortunately they were stuck, caught by the bandage around his leg.

"These are mostly trashed anyway." Xe tested the thin fabric of the skinny jeans and huffed before called over xir shoulder, "Hey, Vince, help me out, wouldja?"

Vincent paused in marking up Lawrence's thighs and patted the blond's hip before hopping off the bed to stand next to xir, "Whatcha need help with, darlin'?"

Nova gestured to Ren's legs, "The skinny jeans need to come off and they're mostly damaged anyway. Just be careful of the bullet wound in his left leg."

"Got it." Vincent noted as he kneeled, then he literally tore through the thin material with his bare hands, causing Ren to yelp and reflexively seize Vincent's broad shoulders, his claws pricking against the already scarred skin. He tried to hold still though, for fear of being accidentally injured further. Vincent made short work of the ruined jeans and he leaned in to press a few open mouthed kisses to Ren's soft stomach with just a hint of teeth. His voice was a pleased rumble against Ren's skin, "Damn, I'd love to fuck this fox into the mattress."

"I thought that's what you wanted to do to my husband." Nova quipped dryly.

At the mention of Lawrence, Ren glanced over to find him sitting up and wearing just grey boxer briefs, the blond's face red as a ripe tomato.

Lawrence let out a shaky breath, "Oh god, I forgot...I...are we...is Ren..."

"Yes, Ren decided to join us." Nova sounded amused and xe came around to kneel in front of xir husband, "It's alright, Law."

"I...I just..." Lawrence trailed off, eyes averted to look at the sunset through the window.

"Hey," Nova's voice was sharp, firmly demanding attention. It certainly got xir husband's notice, blue eyes snapping over to xir. Nova softened then and xe placed xir left hand over his own left, "I know you're nervous, but that's okay. Are you seriously scared though?"

Ren caught the glint of their matching rings in the low light and swallowed thickly, feeling intrusive despite knowing that he was welcome.

Lawrence sighed and shook his head in response to xir question.

"Good. Being nervous is fine, but actually scared is not. This is supposed to be fun." Nova squeezed Lawrence's hand as xe leaned in to murmur reassurances, "I love you. Vincent loves you. Farz isn't even here, but he loves you too despite being an edge lord supreme." Then xe glanced to where the fox sat, "And I'm sure that if Ren doesn't already, he will soon."

Ren nodded slowly.  
He wasn't sure which he was agreeing with, that he was already attatched or that he would be soon. It just felt right to agree, so maybe it was the first one.

Vincent left his side and switched places with Nova, climbing back onto the bed to nose along Lawrence's jaw and throat as he murmured something into the blond's skin.

Nova hastily undid and shimmied xir own jeans off, leaving them in a puddle on the floor and as xe reached for xir black cotton boyshorts, Ren noticed something he hadn't when xe was up close.

Scars.

Nova had several scars, the most prominent ones being the handful of puncture wounds on xir stomach. The one on the right side of xir stomach was particularly eyecatching with the hyperactive pink scar tissue. The other scars were much like his own, pink lines slicing across xir abdomen. However, the cuts were symmetrical. Not in the ordered tally mark lines of self-harm, but mirroring from the anxious need for both sides to match.

Vincent's voice came from the bed, "Hey, Nova, where'd you stash the lube?"

"I'll get it." Xe turned to grab the lube from the nightstand and Ren glanced over xir back.

There was a single scar running along the center of xir back, the tissue thick looking, like someone had made the wound repeatedly, cutting the skin back open after it had healed.

Nova turned again, clambering onto the large bed and spreading xir knees for stability as the bed dipped under the weight of three people.

Ren noticed than unlike himself, Nova's carpet matched the drapes, xir pubic hair a curling forest fire between xir legs. In fact, the only spots shaved on Nova were xir underarms and Ren had seen xir legs before, the light golden-red hairs difficult to see but present.  
Nova's bush was clearly untamed and the hair covered not only xir mound, but also creeped along the soft insides of xir thighs and lightly trailed up the paunch of xir stomach to stop at a scar that almost blended into xir navel.

He turned to see that the others were nude as well, though with Lawrence bent over the way he was Ren couldn't see his cash and prizes, but Vincent...

Holy shit.

Vincent was hung as fuck.

Ren fought the faint urge to fold his hands in front of his pelvis, to hide his own smaller length from potentially critical gazes.

He was fine dammit.

Strade had told him that several times, especially when the fox's anxieties over his physique would flare up.  
Strade may have degraded Ren about his behavior and actions, but the german never once said anything to make Ren think that he was physically unattractive.

A sudden whine drew his attention back to the scene in front of him.

Vincent was being rather vigorous in his prep, already three fingers deep and mercilessly stroking back and forth against the blond's prostate if the twisting of his wrist and Lawrence's writhing hips were anything to go by.

Another whine came from Lawrence and gave way to mumbled begging against the sheets he was gripping.

A pleased rumble was the only reply from Vincent as he removed his fingers and replaced them with the press of his dick.

The wavering moan Lawrence gave as Vincent sunk in trailed off into a low, "Ohhh fuck..."

Ren distantly realized that it was the first time he'd heard Lawrence swear.

Vincent barely paused before he started pulling back, keeping his pace throrough and hard to Ren's surprise. He had figured the werewolf would prefer a quicker pace.  
Although, the pleased noises Lawrence was making made Ren realize that Vincent was aiming to please his current partner rather than just seeking out his own end.

It spoke of intimacy, Vincent knowing just how Lawrence liked being fucked.

However, Lawrence still had his face shyly buried in the pillows and sheets, hiding his reactions and muffling his sounds.

Vincent clearly wasn't having any of that as he gripped the blond's ponytail and yanked him up into a kneeling position.  
The way Lawrence was kneeling with his knees spread allowed Ren to finally see what the blond was packing. The fox licked his lips, Lawrence was thinner than Vincent, but just as long.

The noise Lawrence made at Vincent pulling his hair should've been illegal as far as Ren was concerned, and the fox felt his own dick give a sympathetic twitch.

The blond's face and chest were completely flushed and his mouth hung open, panting for air between cries, "P-please, Vince, I—"

Vincent gave a growl as he twisted Lawrence's head to the side and bit down on his shoulder, making the blond give a louder cry that was more like a yelp.

Ren was startled out of watching when Nova slid in behind him, dragging him back until they were sitting up against the headboard with him reclining into xir. He could feel the warm metal of xir piercings against his back in stark contrast to how soft the rest of xir was.

Nova snaked a hand under his arm and curled xir fingers around his dick. Xir hand was pleasently wet and Ren moaned. He didn't know or care exactly where xe had gotten the slick, but he was thankful for it.

"I was considering sucking you off." Xe murmured into his hair, near a sensitive ear, "But I want to watch too."

Ren's hips bucked involuntarily at that mental image—that xe would give him a blowjob—and he hissed at the twinge of pain that flared in his thigh.

"Easy, boy," Nova cooed, tossing a long leg over his good thigh to keep him in place, "Just let me take care of you."

Ren licked his dry lips before carefully letting his head lull back to rest on xir shoulder as he allowed himself to relax against xir.

Nova gave a pleased hum against his back at his pliant behavior and sped up xir strokes on his dick, twisting xir wrist in a way that spoke of a familiarity with handjobs.

A louder cry, almost a shout, drew his eyes back in time to see Lawrence finish, the blond's dick twitching in Vincent's hand as pearlescent fluid stopped spurting to lazily drip out with each pulse.

Vincent seemed to have mercy as Lawrence went more or less limp in his hold and he guided the blond back into the doggy style position before giving just a handful of thrusts to finish inside, the blond barely protesting the extra stimulation aside from a few whining gasps into the sheets.

Ren suddenly felt the hand on his dick leave and couldn't help the way his hips bucked in an attempt to get the feeling back. The only reply was a low vibrating laugh against his back as Nova shifted out from behind him and maneauvered to crawl on top of him. He was about to protest when xe eased back so that xir mouth was level with his dick and his would-be protest ended up coming out a pleading whine.

Nova didn't even remotely tease him, much to his surprise, and took the whole thing in damn near one go, causing Ren to sharply buck and give a loud moan. Xir head moved quickly, compensating for the movement with calm ease before xe started going to town. Xir method was fast and efficient, aiming to finish him off quickly. The fact that Ren was so pent up certainly helped things along and he found himself pulsing into xir throat in a frankly embarassingly short amount of time.

Nova let his dick slip out of xir mouth and xe sat up, keeping a warm hand on his hip. Xe absently licked xir lips before getting off the bed and walking over to Vincent who was already standing and looking for his clothes.

"You sleeping here?" Nova asked.

Vincent shook his head before hugging xir with easy intimacy, both of them comfortable in their nudity, "Nah, I gotta get going, baby girl."

Nova gave a low hum as they parted, but let the misgendering pet name slide without comment.

Vincent started to get redressed, "Farz is gonna chew me out enough as it is for being late. He might just find some silver to shoot me with if I stay to sleep."

Nova waved him off, already heading back to the bed, "Alright, drive safe, try not to run anyone over."

"That was one time!" He quipped back before he left the room, and Ren honestly wondered if it was a joke or not. The front door opened and shut, a faint click telling Ren that the werewolf at least had the decency to lock the door behind him.

Now Ren was alone with Lawrence and Nova again.

They were entwined on the bed next to him, Nova lying on Lawrence's front in a horizontal hug, their bodies slotting perfectly into each other with the practiced ease of a long term couple.

Despite having been involved only moments ago, Ren ached to be a part of this world. The passionate frenzy of sex was nice, but there was a deep animal satisfaction in just existing with someone.

Ren felt alien watching them exchange lazy chaste kisses, but he felt like he was in a dream, unwilling to break the serene silence.  
No, not silence, his ears picked up quiet murmurs.

"You didn't come."

"I'm fine."

"You don't want me to...?" Lawrence trailed off, seeming unwilling to voice his offer. Whether it was due to him always being so shy or if it was the fox's presence making him nervous, Ren wasn't sure.

Nova gave an amused snort, "We've been up for so long, I'm surprised you're not comatose."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"No, we're both tired. Save it for the shower when we wake up."

There was a quiet pause before Lawrence piped up again, his quiet voice hesitant, "...You're sure?"

"Yes." Nova replied with finality before getting up and lightly shoving his shoulder, "Now move, I want to be the big spoon."

Lawrence sighed but obligingly turned over on his side, facing Ren.

Nova made to slip in behind him when xe paused and reached to mess with the back of his head. Xir hand came back up with an elastic hair tie which xe slipped onto xir wrist like a bracelet before going back to ruffle the back of xir husband's blond hair to shake it out.

Lawrence gave a pleased hum at the attention to his hair. After the abuse Vincent had put it through as a handle, Ren supposed it must have felt doubly nice to have a gentle hand carding through his hair instead.

Nova gave one last affectionate stroke and finally settled in behind him, but xe gave Ren an appraising look over Lawrence's shoulder before snuggling into xir husband's back, "Remind me to change your bandages when we wake up."

Ren made an affirmative noise as he attempted to turn onto his side and face Lawrence, only to be stopped by a flash of pain when he put pressure on his thigh. He cringed and turned back onto his back, relaxing when the pain eased to a dull, warm throb.

When Ren closed his eyes his other senses heightened. He could hear the couple breathing and even faintly hear their heartbeats, almost but not quite in sync. His nose picked up on their scents, mostly the scent of sex, but also Nova's soft yet warm perfume and Lawrence's herbal tea. 

However, under all that there was another scent, one shared by the couple. Like wet earth and fermenting plants, sickly sweet yet with a faint sour edge. The scent of watery decay.

Orange eyes blinked back open when he felt a warmth on his stomach. Lawrence had placed a hand on him, fingers tracing an unseen pattern. Ren turned his head to see the blond watching him.   
When Lawrence noticed Ren's reflective pupils looking back at him in the dark, he tensed for a moment before tentatively moving his hand again, embarassed at being caught but comfortable enough to keep going.

Ren closed his eyes, focusing on the relaxing feeling of the blond's hand mapping out his skin while trying to ignore the familar heavy weight of his collar. The fox noticed that he was avoiding any hotspots, keeping the touch intimate yet platonic. It seemed like Lawrence was just exploring, allowing himself to touch and become familiar with his new bedmate.

Ren drifted off to the soothing mistrations, no longer caring about the strange riverbed scent the couple shared.


End file.
